Electroplating rack



Dec. 5, 1950 M. s. SCHNEIDER ELECTROPLATING RACK Filed Feb. 25) 1946 INVENTOR.

Patented fiec. 5,- 15 I p UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTROPLATING RAGK Max Stefan Schneider,- Chicago, Ill. Application February 23, 1946, Serial No. 649,707 1 Claim. (01. 204-297) This invention relates to electroplating apparatus, and more particularlyto plating racks for supporting in the plating bath the various articles to be plated.

'In production plating it is desirable to provide a rack intended to hold a plurality of identical articles and preferably so arranged that the articles may be firmly held during the plating operation and then rapidly freed therefrom. Racks heretofore known have included separately operable holding means for each of the plurality of articles so that dislodgment of the articles following the plating operation requires individual separation of each article from the rack, a timeconsuming and hence expensive procedure. Moreover, many articles are of such configuration that types of racks presently available do not permit the articles to be held onthe rack in a position to facilitate drainage of the electrolyte; For example, a cup-shaped object having an inwardly rolled rim, if supported substantially vertically for plating, would, when the rack is lifted from the tank, retain some of the electrolyte within a portion of the rim, and in order to effect proper drainage, the rack must be manipulated into various positions in order to dispose of such retained liquid. In the case of heavy articles, such manipulation is a burdensome operation.

Accordingly, one of the principal objects of my invention is to provide a rack for holding articles in an electroplating tank and comprising two elongated principal body members each carrying a plurality of transversely disposed arms, the co-operating arms of each member being opposed and respectively adapted to grip the article from substantially opposite sides thereof, the body members being arranged for relative longitudinal movement therebetween to permit mass release of a plurality of articles supported by the arms.

Another object is to provide a rack of the type aforesaid in which the transverse arms are provided with indentations or notches whereby the article may be better secured during the plating operation and subsequent steps.

' A still further object is to provide one of the arms intended to engage a single article with a plurality of indentations or notches, and the cooperating arm with a single notch or indentation, in order that an article held at one side thereof in the single notch or indentation may be disposed selectively in any of a plurality of planes to facilitate drainage of electrolyte upon completion of the plating operation.

' Another object is to provide a rack of the type referred to which may be manuallyoperated' By way of example, I have shown and will de-' scribe the invention as embodied in a rack hav ing certain part thereof coated with synthetic or natural rubber, as is well known in the art, although it will be comprehended from what follows that the invention is not limited to a rack having such protective coating.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a front elevational view of the rack; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken in a plane represented by the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View taken in a plane the depth of the tank with which the rack is in-.

tended to be used. Member Hi includes a hooked portion ll whereby the entire rack may be supported onthe bus bar of the electroplating tank, the portion ll not being rubber-coated to provide electrical contact of the rack with the bus bar. Adjacent the member Hi and in spaced parallel alignment therewith is a second or aux iliary body member l2 having a cross section similar to that of member it and offset at its upper .end so that a short, bare guiding portion i3 is juxtaposed to the upper bare portion of member. ill and is therefore in electrical contact therewith. That portion of the member I2 not utilized for electrical contact is coated with rubbery material as heretofore indicated.

At its lower extremity the member 10 carries a U-shaped guide It fastened thereto by means of rivets [5 or any other suitable means, and is so arranged as to receive slidably in the bight thereof the lower extremity of the member I2.

It will be obvious that due to the rubber coating over the guide I4 and over the members i0 and I2, some snugness of fit will result between the member l2 and guide I4, and the former will therefore be guided substantially vertically and parallel with respect to the member I0. At the abutting surfaces of the member l and portion I3, there is provided a U-shaped guide I6 adapted to embrace substantially the two abutting parts, and with which an offset handle I! is suitably engaged. The handle I! may be used for transporting the rack from place to place.

Disposed transversely with respect to the member IE3 is the plurality of pairs of arms 2| (Fig. 3) preferably comprising metal which is readily manually bendable, but rigid enough to retain any shape to which it may be bent within the reasonable limits of range thereof. Arms 2| are shown of flat bar-like section, but they may be of circular or other desired section. Moreover, they are preferably rubber-coated, as mentioned in connection with the members B and I2. Arms 2-|- are situated at predetermined spaced distanoes along the length of the member ID, and are shown positioned with the .adjacent extremities thereof spaced apart. At their extremities the arms 2| are provided with V-shaped notches 22 whereby to receive one side of the articles to be supported.

The member l2 carries a plurality of transversely disposed arms 23 preferably resilient .in nature and vertically spaced apart equally to the spacing of the members 2|. Both the arms 2| and 23 are riveted to their respective members l0 and I2 by rivets 24, the rubber coating serving also to cover that portion of the assembly. The ends of the arms .23 are made undulant in form or are serrated to yield a plurality of article-engaging depressions 25, there being three such depressions shown at the end of each arm. Accordingly, an article 30, represented by dot and dash lines in Fig. 1, may be held intermediate the notches 22 and the endmost depression 25 of the arm 23, in which position it will be best situated for drainage. An article 35a having an inturned rim might be supported intermediate the notch 22' and the center one of the depressions 25, in which position liquid could not remain within the inturned rim. An article having a contour necessitating even further inclination to the vertical than the article 30a could be held between the notch '22 and the innermost of the depressions 25.

The rack is shown assembled to'grip articles having a transverse dimension indicated by 'the articles 36 or 30a. If articles having lesser or greater dimensions are to be handled, the member'IZ is moved vertically downward or upward with respect to the member ID. The setting of the members iii and I2 is made such as topermit' the resiliency of the arms 23 to grip the articles with a. moderate degree of pressure to obviate accidental dislodgment thereof. It will be understood that the rack is of the production type in which a plurality of like or substantially like articles is intended to be supported. To release the articles from the rack, the members I0 and I2 may be moved relatively to one another to effect mass release of the articles,

If the configuration of the articles is such that the indicated horizontal spread of the arms 2'|- (Fig. 3) is insufficient to provide the proper support, these may be grasped manually and bent closer together or further apart, the metal being so selected as to permit frequent such distortions without danger of fracture thereof. Increase or decrease of the spacing of the adjacent ends of the arms 2| will necessarily shift the lat- 4 eral position of the notches 22. Such variation in lateral position, together with the co-operating depressions 25, will permit an almost unlimited number of positions for articles held therebetween.

It will be understood that that portion of the members 23 which is in contact with the articles would not be covered with the rubber coating so that the current through the principal member 1-0 and thence into the member l2 may pass through to the articles. It is within the scope of the invention to coat entirely with rubber the arms 23 and to leave the notches 22 whereat the articles are contacted free of such coating.

Referring to Fig. 6, there is shown in enlarged scale the means for combinedly effecting relative vertical movement between the members In and l2and for locking the said members, the same being in the nature of a toggle clamp. Such means includes a handle 3| having cars 32 extending upwardly therefrom, the handle being pivoted at 33 with respect to the member If]. The other member l2 carries fixedly adjustable projections 34 having apertures 35, and the handle 3| is provided with wings 36 having apertures 37. The handle 3| and projections '34 are operatively interconnected by links 38 having inbent ends entering the apertures 35 and 37, the lower ends being peened over to secure them against dislodgment. In the figure the parts are shown in locked position, and a plurality of articles are clamped between the arms 2| and 23. To release the articles the handle 3! is swung upwardly about the pivots 3.3, and consequently the links S8v will be given an upward thrust to shift the members It and I2 relatively to each other to free the articles held thereby. For re-loading the rack, the clamping means just described is reactuated to the position shown in the figure, whereupon the individual articles may be loaded by tensiom'ng the arms .23. It will be apparent that the relation of the toggle with respect to the members It and 2 may be reversed, i. e., the handle 3| may be pivoted to member I2 and the links 38 may be connected to member ID, the handle 3| being turned to extend'upwardly and links 38 to extend downwardly therefrom.

While I have shown particular embodiments of my invention, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and I therefore contemplate by the appended claim to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A rack adapted to be suspended and to support a plurality of articles in an electroplating bath or the like having a transverse bus bar over the same comprising, in combination, a pair of closely adjacent metal bars in parallel alignment and. electrical engagement with each other, said bars being relatively adjustable longitudinally, one of said bars having a hook at its upper end adapted to hook over the bus bar and thereby to supportingly suspend the rack in the bath and electrically connect it with the bus bar, transverse arms with article-holding free ends secured centrally to said bars in a plurality of groups of three arms each, a pair of the arms of each group being secured to one of said bars and the other arm of each group secured to the other bar, the free ends of said pair of arms forming a support for the lower edge portion of an article to be plated, said free ends each having an article edge receiving notch in the upper surface thereof and said free ends being laterally bendable to enable them to be spaced apart as desired to hold the particular article, the free end of the other arm of each group being resilient and located above said pair of ends and adapted resiliently to engage and hold the upper edge portion of the article and press it down against said pair of ends during plating, said upper resilient end having a series of article edge engaging depressions on its lower side to accommodate articles in different inclinations to the vertical for rim drainage, said resilient ends enabling the articles to be individually loaded into the respective groups of the rack, a handled lever pivoted to one of said bars and lying alongside thereof when in closed position, and ,a link pivoted at one end to the other of said bars longitudinally beyond the pvot of the lever, the other end of said link being pivoted to said levertoward the handle end thereof and inside a line joining the pivots of the link and the lever to the bars, said link being longer than the distance from its pivotal attachment on the lever to the pivot of the lever, whereby pivotal movement of said lever from and to its closed position imparts a longitudinal relative shifting of said bars to free the articles from the ends of said arms and to reset said ends in article-holding position, said lever and. link connections preventing the shifting of the bars in a direction to free the articles when the lever is in closed position.

Chicago, 111., Mar. 14, 1939,'front cover and page 6. 

